Posts Tagged ‘how to cook vegetables with a grill wok’
Lean, Great Tasting, and Healthy: A Vegetarian’s Guide to Grilling
In honor of National Vegetarian Day, which occurred on October 1, 2011, I have decided to dedicate an article to preparing vegetables and other vegetarian staples on the grill. Whether you are making a side dish, a snack, or a full out vegetarian meal there are lots of easy and inexpensive ways to prepare great tasting food without the use of animal products.
If you are sticking to a strict vegetarian diet, than one of the most common problems people run into is how to fit enough protein in your caloric intake without your meals becoming repetitive. Tofu is probably the most commonly used source of protein in vegetarian grilling. Tofu is a bean curd product resulting from the coagulation of soy milk. The relationship between milk and cheese is analogues to soy milk and tofu. Tofu comes in several varieties, but for grilling purposes I would strongly recommend using a firm or even extra firm tofu. One of my favorite things when cooking with tofu is that it really takes on basically any flavor that you want it to, so the seasoning plays a vital role into how your tofu dish will come out. Cut your tofu block into slices about 1 inch thick and dunk the slices into your favorite marinade or steak sauce, you could also use a dry rub or herbs if you so desired. What I like to do is mix a little extra virgin olive oil and (vegetarian) Worcestershire sauce together and marinade my tofu in the mixture for about five minutes before I toss it on the grill. The sugars from the Worcestershire sauce and the oil help create some really nice grill lines on the tofu. There is only one trick to grilling tofu, and that is patience. When the tofu is ready to be flipped it will let go of the grill, if you try to flip it before it is ready it will stick to the grill. The easiest way to check is with a pair of tongs. Start at one corner of your piece of tofu and see if that part sticks or easily comes off the grill, and try to remember to be gentle when doing this as I have ruined a few pieces of tofu myself perfecting this method.
